Black Blood
by MaskOfMirth
Summary: Harry has had a lot of unusual birthday's, but this one takes the cake. On his 15th birthday, Harry learns that he isn't quite the same Harry that he thought it was. GENDER BEND, Genres subject to change. Multi-crossover. Pairing TBD.
1. Chapter 1

Harry Potter wasn't what you'd call a normal boy. In fact, if you were to ask the Dursleys, who he lived with, they would say that he was the exact opposite; He was a troublemaking Freak! Of course, trouble found him, not the other way around and rather than being a freak he was just a wizard which was a fairly normal thing, really. But of course on this day, his fifteenth birthday, he thought that maybe he really was a freak. After all, he didn't remember looking at all like the person in the mirror.

For one, he didn't remember his hair going past his shoulders or being that curly and shiny, and he certainly didn't remember having such doe eyes or full, pink lips. His skin wasn't that pale, and while he was always on the shorter side of the spectrum, the person staring back at him with those greyish-blue eyes was a few inches shorter than himself. And then there were those. Yes, those. Those things on his chest that he knew one-hundred and ten percent that he didn't have.

The dead silence was broken by a sharp, musical laugh from his altered vocals. It had to be the twins! They must have spiked his birthday cake from Mrs. Weasley! Most of their appearance altering prank items only forced the change for a few minutes, so he'd just have to sit and wait for it to wear off. It must have been a new product because he was sure they didn't have a gender changing item during the last year at Hogwarts.

It definitely wasn't polyjuice; rather than feeling like bubbles under his skin, this change felt more like being lit on fire and then immediately being doused with ice water. Yeah, definitely not a pleasant sensation. He had a quick mental debate on which was truly worse and was tempted to say that he'd rather be subjected to polyjuice potion again.

His musings had lasted a few minutes and he was starting to get worried. The change should have worn off by now. He'd write the Weasleys and ask about it while he was waiting. Not like he really had anything better to do. He drunkenly staggered out of the bathroom and down the short hallway to his bedroom, where he stuffed a chair under the door handle - if the Dursleys saw him like this, they'd surely kill him.

He'd like to say blocking the door did some good, but as soon as he flattened his parchment on his repaired desk, the door cracked down the middle and was thrown across the room. Harry grabbed his wand from the desk and leveled it at the doorway as he backed into the corner of the room, only to see the last person he expected to see stride into the room. Before Harry could open his mouth, his wand leaped from his hand straight into the hand of Albus Dumbledore.

"Professor Dumbledore?" Harry asked, fear creeping into his voice. Despite Dumbledore's colorful rainbow robes, he'd never been more terrified of the man in his life. He wore a face of unrestrained and unadulterated rage, and when he spoke it was with venom.

"What have you done with him? Where is Harry Potter?!"

"Er, professor...I am Harry Potter. I think that Fred and George might have done something to me?" As soon as he replied he found himself unable to move. Not paralyzed by fear, of course, but rather Dumbledore had frozen him in place so quickly that Harry hadn't even realized he'd moved.

Dumbledore waved his wand over the room a few times before turned back and doing the same to Harry himself. "I don't detect any potions in your body...no glamours either...very well. If you are Harry Potter, then answer me this; What did you find with your cloak during Christmas break of your first year and what did I tell you when I caught you?"

Finding himself able to work his jaw again, he took a deep break and answered, somewhat uncertainly. "The mirror of Erised. You told me 'do not dwell on dreams and forget to live' or something like that?"

"I think, Mr. Potter, that you'd best be coming with me." With a wave of his wand, Harry felt the paralysis lift and he staggered into the wall behind him, barely stopping himself from crashing to the floor.

"Um, professor...I can't really, move very well..." Harry said, embarrassed about his lack of mobility. "I don't know why it's like my body doesn't want to do what I'm telling it."

"Ah! Of course! Take my arm, Harry." With a couple strides across the small bedroom, the aged man was beside Harry with his arm outstretched. "Best take a deep breath. This will be somewhat unpleasant."

Harry did what he was told and took a deep breath before he grabbed onto the Headmaster's forearm. Nothing could have prepared him for what came next; if he had to liken the sensation to anything, it would be getting forced through a garden hose and then stretched out as he came out of the other end. In the split second that it began, it was over and he was on his hands and knees gasping for air and trying not to vomit.

"Deep breaths Harry, and then I need you to read this and memorize it." Harry found a piece of parchment shoved into his hands and did as he was asked. The headquarters of the Order of the Pheonix is located at 12 Grimmauld Place. "Harry, when we get inside, speak to nobody. Not even Sirius. Do you understand? Good, follow me."

Dumbledore led him across the urban city street and as they approached the row of identical residential buildings, a clone of all the others on the street seemed to just grow out between two others. Before he had time to wonder on it, Dumbledore had taken him by the elbow and led him up onto the steps and quietly through the door. It was a dark and musty place, and almost immediately he could feel an air of unhappiness settle on him.

He was led to the bottom of a tall and winding staircase and told to stay put as Dumbledore disappeared down a nearby stair. His curiosity got to him when his eyes settled on what he could tell was a curtained portrait. He quietly took the couple steps to it and carefully pulled back the curtain. The woman behind it was clearly about to start shouting, judging by the deep breath she sucked, but when she caught a look at Harry she froze.

"A Black! One of my blood-traitor son's, no doubt!"

"A Black? I'm not a Black!"

"Oh, you're certainly a Black. I wouldn't be surprised if Sirius had a dozen bastards running around, out there! Kreacher!"

Harry couldn't hold back the decidedly feminine squeak when a dirty old house elf popped into existence right in front of him. Its towel was grimy and the thing looked like it hadn't had a good day in twenty years.

"Well, Kreacher? What do you make of this one? One of Sirius', surely?" the painting asked, in an arrogant tone.

"Oh no, not blood-traitor master's," he muttered. "Child of Regulus, mistress. I can see it without magic, mistress."

He was about to ask who Regulus was when he felt an iron grip on his shoulder. He looked up to see Dumbledore's steely gaze and Sirius with a haunted look in his eye. Before he knew it, he was being pushed up several flights of stairs and into a large bedroom on the third floor.

"Sirius?"

"My mother is right, Dumbledore. It's a short story so I'll get right into it; Regulus, my younger brother," he said for Harry's benefit, "came to me with a baby girl and asked me to find a home for her. He said he found something about the Dark Lord, and he was worried about his family. I argued with him, tried to get him to tell me what was going on, but he wouldn't. All he would say was that Voldemort couldn't die, and he knew why."

"The mother?"

"Greengrass. She had twin daughters, but she couldn't give up both of them," Sirius said, without taking his eyes off of Harry.

All of a sudden, it was becoming real. It wasn't a Weasley prank. He wasn't actually a she. Harry Potter wasn't a girl. It was becoming hard to breathe and the room was spinning around him. He couldn't be a girl! It wasn't possible! He was a boy, Harry Potter, and he had been for fifteen years now. He found himself being forced into a plush armchair in the corner of the dark room and Sirius was on his knees in front of him, her?

"You knew?" Harry managed to choke out. "You knew the whole time and you didn't say anything?"

"No! Harry, I swear I didn't know! I turned you over to James around the same time that Lily had given birth. Something must have gone wrong with Lily's birth and they had you take their baby's place. I swear I didn't know that you were the same." Sirius pulled Harry into a crushing hug and the damn broke. His tears felt like liquid fire burning their way down his cheeks as a sob escaped his lips.

"So I'm not a Potter?" Harry asked, heartbroken.

"Harry; you will always be a Potter in your heart and that is what matters. In your blood, however, you are a Black. The fact that the blood wards around Privet Drive have fallen should attest to that. I would guess that Lily and James used a blood glamour, and it could no longer sustain itself," Dumbledore replied in an understanding tone, with a sad look in his eyes. "Family is what you make of it Harry. If you so decide, James and Lily will always be your mother and father. Do not forget that. Their sacrifices will always be genuine."

"So I'm really a girl, then? This is all real?"

"Yeah, pup. It's all real."

Harry took a deep breath and steadied himself as he wiped the tears from his eyes. "All right. I need a name, then. And somebody has to teach me how to be a girl."

"Just like that?" Sirius asked in shock. "No breaking everything? No shouting and denying everything?"

Harry stood on unsteady legs before he answered. "To what point? Fighting it wouldn't change anything. And I'm getting pretty good at taking things in stride, after the last four years at Hogwarts."

"I suppose you have a good point..."

"And plus, I don't have to be Harry Potter, anymore!" He exclaimed, with real joy at the prospect. "No more expectations, no more people whispering or pointing at me!"

"Albus?"

"Well, I suppose he's quite correct. He has a chance for a fresh start," Dumble smiled and his eyes twinkled. "But that leaves us with what to do with Harry Potter."

Harry caught himself mid-skip and looked thoughtful. "Dead. Harry Potter was killed fighting Death Eaters. Make me a martyr. It might stir up enough to get an investigation going on Voldemort."

"Harry...are you sure about that? A lot of people will be hurt by that news," Sirius said, giving him an incredulous look.

"Well I can't tell anybody that I'm Harry Potter, and technically I'm not. Tell them Harry's off training for the war or something, then."

"We have time to make these decisions - it is yet early in the summer and nobody will be asking questions for some months, minus your friends of course," Dumbledore said.

"Fair weather friends, maybe," Harry spat, tucking a few stray hairs behind his ear. "Nobody else should know, outside of us. As far as they're concerned, Sirius tracked down's Regulus' daughter and brought her back, which again is the truth."

Dumbledore's eyes widened, and he stooped to Harry's level. He slowly raised a hand to Harry's forehead and brushed back his bangs; it took everything in Harry's power to not backstep at the sudden close proximity. "The scar is gone...Harry, tell me everything that you can remember about your change."

"There's really nothing to tell, it happened so quickly. It felt like somebody lit a fire and threw me headfirst into it, and then immediately dunked me in ice water," he said nervously.

"Attached to the body, rather than the soul...would account for the resistance to its influence...the breakdown of your former body must have dislodged it..." he said quietly, to himself. "Good news, my boy, or rather my girl. Do you remember when I said all those years ago that Voldemort gave a piece of himself to you? It appears as if your change has destroyed that piece!"

"I feel much calmer now. Would that piece have affected my attitude...like made me angrier?" Harry asked, retaking his seat in the armchair.

"I believe it is possible, surely. Probably, in fact. Tom Riddle was, after all, a very angry person and I wouldn't be surprised if that rubbed off on you."

Harry couldn't keep the smile off of his face. Voldemort could hold him under the cruciatus for all he cared, and he'd laugh through it. He was free! He was truly free and the scar being gone was the ultimate proof. "So what now?"

"Now, we have to arrange a female influence in your life. Somebody to teach you what you need to know to be a woman," Sirius said, with a half laugh.

"What's so funny, Uncle Siri?" Harry smirked.

Sirius' jaw dropped at the sudden realization. He was an uncle and his godson was his niece! He didn't even have time to react before Harry launched himself into his arms and squeezed him in the happiest hug of his life. "We need a name for you, pup. Can't keep calling you Harry. Oh! And we're going to move your birthday to a week from today."

"Did the Greengrass lady not give me a name?" Harry asked, head still on Sirius' chest.

"Regulus didn't tell me if they named you. It's possible that he left something in his room here. We'll take a look later." Sirius turned to look at Dumbledore, who was quietly smiling at the pair from the corner of the room. "Any ideas for a trainer?"

"Maybe your cousin Andromeda? Or her daughter Nymphadora?"

Sirius snorted. "Not bloody likely. Andi has no love for this family and lets's face it, Dora isn't exactly what you'd call 'ladylike."

"If it saves you the trouble, just get me some books and I'll figure it out on my own. If somebody has to come teach me all of this stuff, they'd obviously know that I'm not exactly who I say I am," Harry offered.

Dumbledore pulled up his sleeve and checked one of the many watched on his wrist before he motioned to Sirius. "It's time for the meeting, Sirius. We'll tell everybody that you've retrieved Regulus' daughter. If they ask for her name, tell them - "

"Serina," Harry said, remembering one of his classmate's name from muggle school. "Serina Black. It's not a star, as far as I'm aware, but I'm also a Greengrass. If we learn my real name later, we can tell them that the people I was with before called me Serina."

Sirius smiled at him, no not him, her. He was a she now and she had to get used to thinking like it. "I like it, Serina. We'll go with it. You look like you're pretty worn out, Serina; you might as well lay down and take a nap. The bed is clean and fresh; I'll come back up after the meeting."

Harry...Serina just nodded and put her questions on hold for later, but one burning question forced it's way out of her mouth just as her Uncle was pulling the door shut behind him on his way out. "Do I have to go back? To the Dursleys, I mean?"

Sirius stopped and took a half step back into the room. He turned and gave her a warm smile, a smile full of care and love. "Never again, pup. I won't even let them think about it." And then he was out and the newly christened Serina Black was left alone with her thoughts.

Serina kicked off the ill-fitting shoes and rubbed he sore ankles. Her feet were so small now, she idly thought. All of her was small now, really. She was several inches shorter than before the change, and her general mass had reduced along with the height. She wandered to the vanity next to the door and took in her appearance in the mirror. Just as Harry did before, Serina looked sickly. Skin and bones, even in a new body.

She sighed and threw herself down on the bed, sinking into the feather mattress and pulled the duvet loosely around her, wrapping herself in it like a cacoon. She hadn't realized how much energy the change had really drained her of. She didn't have time to think on it anymore, as the next thing she knew, she was dreaming.

/

Upon waking, Serina found herself extremely uncomfortable. Not only was she made aware that she was very hungry, but she had to fight for control of her bladder. Luckily for her, the room she was in had its own bathroom. She fought her way out of the tangle of blankets she was in and padded across the dimly lit room and through the extra door. She took her place standing in front of the toilet bowl before it hit her; she had to sit down to pee! Merlin, she was going to be fighting a blush for the rest of the day.

Out of curiosity, she took a quick sniff of her shirt and winced at the rank smell. She must have been burning up, wrapped up like she was in the July heat and ended up sweating profusely. With a sigh, she resolved to shower as soon as she finished her other business; best to just get it all out of the way at once.

Taking a steadying breath, she let Harry's old trousers and boxers drop and took a seat. He couldn't make himself look, so as he released control of his bladder, he kept his gaze firmly on the wastebin against the wall across from him. Finished with his business, he cleaned himself up and pulled his trousers back on his now wider hips.

"Kreacher?" She called, tentatively.

With a pop, the old house elf appeared in front of her, making her jump regardless of the fact that she was expecting it. "What can Kreacher do for Miss?"

"Right, er - is there anything for me to wear?" Serina asked the haggard looking servant.

"Of course, Miss. Kreacher will lay some of Mistress Bella's old things on the bed for you." And then with another pop, he was gone.

With no excuse to delay any longer, Seline quickly pulled her shirt over her head and felt a peculiar tightening sensation as his new breasts were exposed to the cool air of the bathroom. Flushing, she brushed it off and stepped out of the trousers and underwear again and stepped into the shower. Her entire body broke out in goosebumps as her feet made contact with the cold ceramic of the bathtub, and she hurriedly spun the taps to get the water running.

He, no dammit, she reached for a bar of soap that suspiciously appeared just as he began looking for one and began the process of scrubbing himself down while doing his best to avoid his new parts. Finally, when he had nothing else to wash and no excuse, he brought the bar of soap to his chest. Merlin! Sure it was his body, but he'd been a guy for the last fifteen years and this was embarrassing! No choice though; this was who he was now, and he had no choice but to get used to it.

Se tried to ignore the pleasurable feeling of the soap rubbing over his newly sensitive nipples and he washed down there as quickly as possible. He fought back the full body flush as he replaced the bar of soap and began the process of shampooing his now long hair. He thought it had only reached his shoulders, but when it was wet and the curls were out of the picture, it had to be level with his armpits.

Finishing that, he stepped out of the shower and patted himself dry before trying to work the water out of his hair, and failing that he wrapped himself in his towel and re-entered his room. True to his word, Kreacher had left clothes for her on the bed. There were plain back knickers and a bra on top of the pile, with a black dress? laying under those. Without further ado, Serina stepped into the knickers and pulled them snug on her hips before eyeing the bra apprehensively. She slipped her arms through the straps and held the cups up to her breasts, but couldn't get the damn thing hooked in the back!

Giving it up as a bad job, she wrapped the towel around herself again and called for Kreacher. When he appeared, it wasn't quite alone. He had the portrait of the woman from the ground floor landing with him. He propped the portrait up against the wall and disappeared without a word.

"Try putting it on backward, dear," she advised, with an amused smile.

"Backwards?"

"Of course. Hook it on your chest and then spin it around and slide your arms through the straps," she answered, in a tone that suggested it was common sense.

"Oh. Alright..." Doing what she was told, Serina pulled the bar around her backward and clasped it between her breasts before shimmying it around and pulling her arms through. "Much easier!"

"Dear girl, you act like you've never worn a bra before!" the woman laughed.

"Um...er...I haven't," Serina said uncomfortably, scuffing the floor with her heel.

"Don't fidget. A proper lady never fidgets!" the portrait reprimanded her. "Explain."

Looking at the floor and making a conscious effort to act like a proper lady and not fidget, she answered her. "I was raised as a boy. Dumbledore said I was blood glamoured."

The portrait gave her a sharp, searching look before nodding. "Very well. I will instruct you in the ways of a pureblood lady. First, finish dressing."

Har-Serina, she was Serina now, picked up the dress and examined it. With a sigh, she pulled it over her head and felt the weight settle on her hips, rather than her shoulders like she would have expected. The torso was stiff, but the floor-length skirt was soft and flowing.

"Kreacher!" The portrait called. "Do her corset up."

Before Serina could protest, she felt the air being forced out of her lungs as the corset was laced and constricted around her. She fought for her breath for a few moments before she figured out to take shallower breaths.

"Good, you learn quick. That'll make this easier. Go eat, dearie. We'll begin your lessons when you have more time."

"Um, er...sorry? Why did I have to dress up just to eat?" Harry asked, pulling on the low-heeled shoes that were left for him. "I don't plan on leaving."

"The idea is to be used to wearing such things by the time you do leave." And then she snapped at Serina. "Eyes up! This dirty old carpet can't be that interesting. Now go eat."

Serina took slow strides across the room, trying not to roll her ankle or trip on the skirt. After a couple passes around the room, she finally made her way to the door and hoped Sirius would keep the ribbing to a minimum when he saw her. Sure he told Dumbledore and Sirius that this change was all well and good, but inside he was a mess. Okay, so he was actually a girl the entire time. That knowledge didn't just make everything okay, especially when he still had the mind of a male.

She didn't actually know where he was going, so he made his way slowly down the stairs and headed towards the stairs Dumbledore disappeared down to get Sirius when they initially arrived in the dark old house. She almost missed her step when she passed a wall of severed house-elf heads. Clutching her frantically beating heart, she finished her downward trek and stood at the top of the dark stair into what must have been the basement. Serina squeezed her eyes shut and took a deep breath before heading down and pushing open the door at the bottom.

It was just a kitchen with a long wooden table running down the length of it. There were only two people in the room; Sirius and a pink-haired witch sat opposite each other at the far end of the table, each with a bowl in front of them. Sirius turned to the door just as she took her first step inside.

"Holy shit Ha-Serina," he exclaimed, jaw-dropping. "You clean up real nice. Not sure if a corset is what I would have chosen for a dining dress, though..."

"The woman in that portrait and Kreacher didn't give me much choice," Harry said, in his new voice, which he decided that if he must be a girl, he quite liked. After several flights of stair in his heeled shoes, he felt almost comfortable in them, especially on the flat floor of the kitchen, and he almost glided across the room to take a seat next to Sirius.

"This is her then?" The witch asked in a cheery tone...too cheery, for Serina.

A bowl of what appeared to be beef stew appeared in front of Serina as Sirius turned to reply to the witch. "Yes. This is Regulus' girl, Serina; my niece. She'll be staying here with me now."

Serina couldn't help the smile that crept up on her face at the admission that Sirius wanted her to live with him. Her Uncle Sirius. She didn't think that the novelty of Sirius actually being family would ever wear off.

"How was your nap, kiddo?"

"Great; what happened had me beat. I didn't realize it until I lay down." Serina answered after swallowing her bite. Whoever made the stew did a good job. "Restroom and shower, not so much..."

Sirius barked out a laugh and layed a hand on her shoulder. "And dear old mother is going to run you ragged with your pureblood lady training. Still, as much as I hate the pureblood way of life, it'll be good to help you break old habits."

"Uncle Sirius, she made me wear a corset just so I could eat a bowl of stew!" Serina whined. When you learned to control your breathing, it wasn't so bad when you were standing up, but sitting down in it felt impossible. She was sure every one of her ribs was cracked at this point.

"If it's any consolation, you look damn good it!" The other witch threw her two-pence in. "I'm Tonks!"

"Er - Serina. Nice to meet you."

"Nymphadora is my cousin Andromeda's daughter," Sirius offered with a cheeky smile.

"Don't call me Nymphadora!" The witch known as Tonks half-shouted, her hair turning bright red. Serina's eyed widened at the display, which Tonks caught. "I'm a metamorphmagus. I can change my appearance at will. And no I can't teach you; it's something you have to be born with."

"Right. Fine by me. Seems like I already have a lot to do, as it is."

Tonks abruptly stood, and stretched her arms over her head. "Well, I'm needed back at the Ministry. Catch you later!"

"Sirius...do I have to go to Hogwarts?" Serina asked. "I mean, nobody knows that I exist, so I could stay here. You could teach me?"

Sirius fixed Serina with a small smile and leaned back in his chair before answering. "That's not up to me, kiddo. That decision falls to Dumbledore. I'm sure he'll see it your way, though. Most witches and wizards don't have an ounce of common sense, but even some of them will catch on if Harry Potter disappears at the same time that Serina Black shows up."

"And if one person knows, then everybody in Wizarding Britain will know."

There was a comfortable silence for a few minutes, with both absorbed in their own thoughts. Serina really didn't want to go back to Hogwarts; considering Harry's track record there, nobody could really blame her. She also didn't want to have to see her old friends. Ron would probably just drool over her new admittedly good looking body, and Hermione would have her pegged as Harry in ten minutes.

"We'll go shopping sometime next week for your 'birthday'," Sirius broke the silence. "We'll probably have to bring Tonks, too. I don't know about you, but I can't shop for the fairer sex."

Serina snorted in a very unladylike display of amusement. "I may technically be a girl now, but even I don't look forward to that."

Sirius barked out a laugh, in that way that just made you want to smile and rose to his feet. "Well, since we're gonna be living here together, we might as well get this house looking like a house."

Any other time if somebody mentioned cleaning, she probably would have groaned in disappointment, but the prospect of doing something with Sirius had her smiling and agreeing. Standing with Sirius, they made their way to the third floor to begin their mission.

All in all, it turned out to be a great day and easily Serina's best birthday. Conversation never once turned to serious or darker topics, and often the silence was only broken by Sirius giving her an abridged history lesson on the Blacks, supported by quips about his least favorite family members. One particularly memorable moment was when Sirius brought up his mother's obsession with pureblood propaganda, going so far as to suggest her monthlys were as pure as pure gets. Serina spent the next five minutes in joyful laughter as Kreacher popped into the room with the portrait of Walburga and gave Sirius a dressing down for being an ungrateful son and 'being crass in the presence of a lady'. Needless to say, Sirius kept away from bringing up his mother again.

At one point, she thought she heard Sirius whispering across from the bedroom that they were almost finished cleaning up. "Sorry, what?"

Sirius looked up at her in confusion. "What?"

"I heard you whispering; did you need something?" Serina asked, throwing a moldy book in the garbage bin that they'd brought with them.

"I didn't say anything, kiddo. Are you okay?"

Straining her ears, she could just barely make out the unintelligible whispering but looking at Sirius she could see that he was being honest. His mouth was sealed. "I can still hear it. It sounds familiar, but I can't make out what it's saying."

Slowly, the new witch made her way across the room to a small dressing table sitting under a window across from the door. She pointed at the top drawer. "Whatever it is, it's in here. I swear I've heard that voice before!"

Sirius joined him in front of the dresser and pulled the top drawer open. There was nothing inside of it, except for a small golden locket with an 'S' printed on the lid. "Don't touch it! Knowing this family, it dark. It'll probably possess you if you touch it-"

"The diary!" Serina exclaimed in fear. "Sirius, you need to get Dumbledore. The voice, I know why I recognize it! It's Tom Riddle's voice. If this is anything like the Diary, it WILL posses you."

Sirius recoiled at the admission. He grabbed a washcloth from his pocket and wrapped it around the locket before pocketing it and turning to his former godson, now niece. "I'll go floo Albus right away; in the meantime, don't touch anything. It's getting late anyway, so I suggest we call it a day. The room you were in earlier is all yours."

With that, Sirius herded her out of the room and pulled the door shut behind them before brushing past her and hurrying down the dark stairs. A minute later found Serina in her room, seriously debating whether to just drop down on the bed and pass out or to stay awake long enough to shower first. Her mind was made up when she realized that the musty smell of the house clung to her clothes and skin, her long hair was dulled by the amount of dust that had settled in it, and her skin was filthy from whatever was in the room she had been working on.

She made her way through the door on the wall to the right of the entrance to her room and called Kreacher to unlace the uncomfortable corset that was built into the dress. She took several deep breaths, reveling in the feeling of not being crushed before she grabbed the hem of her skirt and lifted it over her head. She winced as her was pulled from being tangled up in the laces on the back of the dress. Next, she kicked off her heels and pulled her bra over her head without even bothering with the strap. Too exhausted to even be embarrassed, she finally stepped out of her knickers and jumped in the shower.

The cold floor of the tub served to keep her awake long enough for her to quickly lather her body and soap her hair, which she surprised even herself with how much time she spent on her hair. When she was she slipped on a pair of purple knickers that had been set out for her and collapsed on her bed, asleep before her head even hit the pillow.


	2. Chapter 2

**So...short one this time. My bad. Turns out that as much as I enjoy the Harry Potter series, I actually hate writing in its universe. With that in mind, there's a decent chance that I turn this story into a crossover as some point; if you don't like crossovers then I'm sorry but it's that or this story is never going to go anywhere. It won't be immediate and I haven't really picked what I want to crossover with but you'll know as soon as I do when I figure that out.**

* * *

Harry woke early in the morning, shaken out of his slumber by the words "kill the spare". It wasn't the first time that he'd heard those words in his sleep, but to him, it was the worst. He had hoped, foolishly so, that the nightmares would stop with his change - oh. Right. His change. Her change.

She sighed loudly and ran her hand through her hair, trying to urge away an incessant tingle on her scalp. Ignoring the tickle of sweat running down between her breasts, and the hair plastered to her forehead, she kicked her legs over the side of her bed and stood up before stretching her arms over her head and releasing a very feminine yawn that almost had her running from the...the cuteness of it.

Serina almost had a breakdown at the solid realization that she was actually a girl, and that yesterday really happened. Thankfully, she managed to quell an emotional outburst with a single thought - 'I don't have to be Harry Potter, anymore' which was immediately followed by another thought that made her snort in amusement. 'I hope Sirius is okay with having a gay niece.'

Despite the fact that she knew she badly needed a shower, she decided that she needed food more, so she threw on a large plain black t-shirt and a matching pair of shorts that had been laid out the chair in the corner of the room and made her way down to the kitchen.

As soon as she opened the kitchen door and stepped in, Tonks and Sirius looked at her for a split second before simultaneously bursting out in laughter.

"Oh Sirius, what did you do to the poor thing?" Tonks exclaimed between laughter as her hair cycled through the colors of the rainbow.

"Oh no, Dora!" Sirius wheezed. "This is all her! I did nothing!"

Huffing in annoyance, Serina threw herself into the chair directly to the right of Sirius and pulled his breakfast plate in front of her before sticking her tongue out at him and digging in. "What did I do that has you laughing like little girls?"

In lieu of an answer, Tonks conjured a mirror in front of Serina. "Why is my hair blue?"

Her question sparked more hysterical laughter from the older pair. Tonks was the first to stop laughing and gave Serina a critical look. "Did you do any spellwork this morning?"

"No, I haven't even touched my wand-"

"And you're too old for accidental magic..." Sirius added, with a smirk.

Tonks' look turned thoughtful and she and Sirius shared a look. "Alright kiddo, close your eyes and picture your hair in your mind. Look and feel."

Unsure of what was happening and what the point of what the point of what she was being asked to do was, she tentatively closed her eyes and waited for the prank that she just knew was coming. After several moments when nothing happened, she did what she was told and imagined the long wavy, silky black tresses that framed her face and cascaded down her back. Hearing a gasp and a slow clap, she opened her eyes and fixed the two others at the table with a quizzical look.

"Congratulations, you're a metamorphmagus," Tonks said, with a large smile. "We'll get along just fine!"

"I'm a...a what?"

It was Sirius that answered her question. "A metamorphmagus. It's a rare trait that allows witches or wizards to change their body at will. Like you, you just changed your hair from blue back to black, just by picturing it in your mind."

"So you're a metamorphmagus, too?" Serina asked, shifting her gave to Tonks.

"Yup!" Tonks said enthusiastically, and to further prove her point, she gave herself a duckbill. "Don't do what I just did, though. Using metamorph talents is dangerous once you go into nonhuman changes. If you're not careful, you could get stuck in the change. I don't recommend doing nonhuman until you cover nonhuman transfiguration in school."

"By stuck, you mean-"

"That you can't fix it. Yeah. Promise me that you won't try it."

"I promise. Could I change into a boy?"

"You could, yes...but I don't recommend trying it unless you're extremely familiar with a boy's body," the older metamorphmagus explained. "The easiest way for cross-gender changes if for you to take polyjuice to become the opposite gender so that you can get a feel for it. I tried it once before I took the polyjuice and it was a nightmare. Bloody uncomfortable having both sets at once if you know what I mean."

Tonks' last statement had Sirius howling in laughter and beating the table with his fist. Serina hardly caught Tonks drawing her wand and tipping Sirius' chair over, before she too cracked up. Serina took a final bite of her cold and forgotten breakfast before saying her goodbyes and heading back up to her room to shower; the dried sweat on her body was extremely uncomfortable.

She stayed in the shower much longer much longer than she had the first time, forcing herself to not be uncomfortable with her body. It was her body, after all. In all reality, she had nothing to be embarrassed about, because she wasn't a guy in a girl's body. She was a girl in a girl's body, who was forced to be in a guy's body for a very long time. Serina knew it was going to be some time probably before she was completely comfortable, but the sooner she acclimated to the changes, the sooner she could move on.

In her time in the shower though, she did learn than having boobs was a serious pain in the ass. Even just trying to wash them sent jolts throughout her entire body. Were they all so sensitive? ' _It's probably just because it's a new feeling. It'll pass in time.'_ Hopefully. Or hopefully not? Matters for another time. She also spent more time than she was willing to admit on washing her hair, wanting it to continue to shine like it had after her first shower.

Once done in the shower, she wrapped a towel around her body and entered her room, to find a pair of loose grey sweatpants and a matching grey sweater laid out for her, with a set of plain blue knickers and bra. As soon as she was dressed the portrait of Walburga made her presence known and told her to sit, which she did, choosing the plush green armchair in the corner of the room.

"Alright dear; your next lesson is one that I'm sure might frighten you a little, but it's natural so you'll have to learn to cope with it."

Picking at the redwood armrest out of nervousness, Serina nodded her head as a sign for the portrait to continue. "Not sure I like the sound of that..."

"You won't like the feel of it either," Walburga laughed with a teasing lilt that was at odds with her harsh voice. "Now, for a few days once a month-"

"No!" Serina's eyes widened in horror as the realization crashed down on her. "I don't won't monthlies," she whimpered.

"I'm sorry dear, but we all have to go through them. There's nothing you can do about it, so be quiet and listen so we can get you through this as painlessly...and cleanly...as possible."

Needless to say, it was a haunted-looking daughter of Black that showed her face at lunch that day. Sirius tried talking to her, but she couldn't make herself look at him and she answered with as few words as possible.

"Serina? Serina! You're worse than your mother when she was on her time of the month," he joked.

Serina didn't think it was a very good joke, as Sirius found out fifteen minutes later when Tonks finally showed up and ennervated him with a questioning look at the youngest.

"I have periods now..." she mumbled in response.

Tonks' face flashed in understanding. "Tell you what, cousin. When it starts, tell me and we'll spend the day being lazy and eating ice cream, yeah?" Getting a small smile and a nod from Serina, Tonks then turned to Sirius. "And you better watch yourself. She's under my wing now, dog. And I'd hate to have to get you fixed."

Sirius' eyes widened comically before standing and turning to the still seating former Potter. With a flourish, he bowed and added, "My crass behavior has insulted you and I beg for your apologies, my lady. I'll endeavor to see that it doesn't happen again."

She couldn't help it; it started as a smile, then turned into a chuckle, before exploding into musical laughter and tears of mirth. "Sirius, never change."

Her godfather shot her a grin before shooing her upstairs and out of the way of an Order meeting that was to be taking place soon. Were she still Harry Potter then she would have begged to be allowed in but Serina Black was content with heading to the library for some self-study on defense. That was one thing that she knew would never change, her love of DADA.

Walking into the dark and musty library, she flicked her wand at a row of lamps along the wall before grabbing a book on curses and counter-curses. She found the least destroyed looking chair near the only window in the room and took a seat, tucking her legs under her and slightly off to the side. _'Well, that was weird.'_ As a guy, he never would have caught himself sitting like this, but as a girl, it seemed to come naturally. Whatever.

She leaned back in the chair and cracked the book in her lap. _'Really, maybe going to Hogwarts wouldn't be such a bad thing. On the other hand, if I don't go then I can stay here and learn what_ I _want to learn. Not good for my future, though...though really I'm not sure where astronomy, goblin rebellions, and divination comes into play with job prospects'._ And so Serina spent the next couple of hours reading through a mixture of horrifying and not so horrifying curses, which internally debating the merits and drawbacks of attending the school of magic. She lay her head back and closed her eyes, sore from hours of reading in low light. _'This place seriously needs some damn electric lights.'_

She was just about to doze off when a heavy breeze blew in from the slightly cracked window. Her eyes opened to the sound of pages shifting; not wanting to lose her page she tried to stop the pages from flipping, but when she slapped her hand onto the open book, Serina was interesting to see that a loose piece of parchment was shoved into the book. She brought it close to her face to read the tiny scrawl.

 _ **For those whose will is strong, they can find themselves in new worlds.**_

That was it. That was all the page said. It didn't mean anything to the newly discovered teen girl but it seemed like something that had a deeper meaning than it would suggest. Still curious, Serina folded the piece of parchment and pocketed it with plans on thinking on it the next day. Just noticing how late it'd gotten, she made her way to her room to call it a night.


	3. Chapter 3

**Another short one; sorry folks. This is as far as the story goes until I can decide what I want to crossover with. I'm thinking about either World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings, or maybe Mass Effect. Regardless, there is going to be a huge time-jump, but it will be filled in with flashbacks. Until next time, folks.**

* * *

"Wake up, kiddo! Lots to do today!"

The voice of her uncle Sirius coming through her bedroom door startled her out of her nightmare. The phrase 'kill the spare' was still everpresent in her mind, but all the recent excitement had pushed it to the background. Now that the shock of her new lifestyle had somewhat simmered down, the graveyard took its rightful place at the forefront of her mind.

She wiped an errant tear from her cheek and shook her head to clear up her mind before standing up, still somewhat uncomfortable with being more or less nude in a female form. Sure, Serina had accepted that she wasn't Harry anymore but the fact remains that she was Harry and had fifteen years of being a downtrodden teen male hardwired into her brain; a teen who had never seen a naked female until the life-altering events of his/her birthday mere days earlier.

Though she still liked girls and had no amorous thoughts concerning males, so at least she wasn't fighting the awkwardness that would come with her sexual preferences doing a backflip in a single day. Small mercies. Except being gay, not just in the wizarding world but in the muggle world as well, was still highly discriminated against. Shit. Maybe not a small mercy? To be decided.

She looked at the laid-out dress with utter distaste. It was a plain but clearly upper-class dress; black, velvety, and designed to show off what was underneath while still remaining somewhat modest. It was cut to show just a hint of cleavage and had a high back so at least she could wear a bra underneath it all. With a sigh, she snapped on the thin black bra and knickers that accompanied it and then slipped the dress over her head. She made sure the wide shoulder straps covered the straps of her bra and then groaned when she noticed the matching heels laid out as well.

"Walburga! No! I WILL not wear these!"

"Oh quit your bawling and act like the lady I've been training you to be; you'll wear them without complaint."

"I've never even worn these things before; these aren't like the other platforms you forced me into!" Serina whined. "I've seen girls sent to the hospital wing because of these things!"

"Oh shush. They're charmed," Walburga insisted in her most placating tone. "You won't have to worry about rolling your ankle, and considering how easily you handled the platforms, I'm sure you'll pick these up in a hurry."

With a quiet sigh, Serina acquiesced and slipped her small feet into the heels and buckled them before making a couple tentative laps around the room to get a feel for them. The heel-to-toe steps came surprisingly naturally to her without any thought on her part.

"Very good dear, and you look beautiful. I wouldn't say no to some makeup but frankly, I don't want to fight that battle right now. Make your way down; you're to have a busy day today. Getting a nod, Walburga settled herself in her frame to nap until her student returned.

/

"Gringotts first; we're going to have to sort out your vault," Tonks told her younger cousin as the two stepped into Diagon Alley. Sirius wanted to come as well, but he was still a wanted man and neither Serina or Tonks would allow him to risk it. With Sirius not being allowed to come, they had to let Tonks in on the secret of Serina's origins.

"My vault?"

"Well your vault was the Potter vault, but you're not a Potter anymore. Well, never was technically, but you know what I'm saying," she explained in a quiet voice, wary of anybody overhearing. "So we need to go in and see if you still have access and if you don't then we need to get you into the Black vaults. We were going to do that anyways."

They weaved their way through a crowd that was congesting the alley as Tonks continued to give Serina directions. "When we get in there, don't make eye contact with anybody but the goblins and let me do the talking. If the goblins ask you questions, respectfully decline to answer them until we can get a secure meeting. Got that?"

"Yes, I got it," Serina answered calmly, even though her insides were in turmoil. The money really didn't mean anything to her, but if she was denied access to the Potter vault then that was just one more tie to her parents being cut and she didn't know if she could handle that.

It was surprisingly easy. They made their way to Gringotts and to a teller booth. After a short wait in line, Tonks leaned in close to the goblin and said something so quietly that even Serina who was right next to her couldn't hear. With a nod in her direction to confirm, Tonks followed after the goblin with Serina right behind her. They were led into a small room directly behind the teller station that was completely bare of any and all furniture. Once the door was closed behind them, the goblin looked at Tonks expectantly.

"We're dealing with a victim of a blood glamour and need to inquire about accessibility to the host families vault," Tonks answered his unspoken question in a no-nonsense tone.

"Vault and circumstances?" The goblin asked in a monologue.

"Potter vault. Harry Potter," Tonks made a motion towards a silent Serina with her hand, "was blood glamoured. Harry Potter never existed."

That certainly got a shock out of the goblin. He turned to Serina with wide eyes, shock and wonder written in them. "Not even a male? Cruel. Cruel indeed."

The goblin looked between the two females. "We'll have to look into the Potter's general will to see what we can do, but don't get your hopes up."

"My parents had a will?"

The goblin looked up at Serina. "A general will. Not exactly a last will and testament. It's more like saying 'everything goes to this person or this person' as opposed to 'divide these up between these people' if that makes sense?"

With Serina's nod of understanding, he continued on. "We're going to need a contract quill, veritiserum, and the general will so if you will wait here then I will return with what we need." Saying that the goblin took his leave and left them in the room alone.

Past Tonks saying, "fingers crossed, yeah?" no words were exchanged in the ten minutes that they were left waiting. After those ten minutes, the original teller goblin came back with two more goblins in tow, carrying a waist-high table between them. They placed the table in the middle of the room and exited without a word. Once they were gone and the door secured again, the teller placed a small box on the table and opened it.

As he pulled items out of the box he explained what each was. "Veritiserum. Most powerful truth potion in existence. Have to make sure you are who you say you are, don't we? Contract quill; signing anything with this is the equivalent of doing a binding ritual. This was nobody can contest ownership of the vault. And the potter general will." The Potter general will was actually just a small piece of parchment.

"First, the veritiserum. Three drops on the tongue and even the strongest mind would crack and tell us what we need to know. I have the antidote in my pocket so no worries there and we'll only ask questions to identify you as formerly being Harry Potter. Ready?"

Serina gave an extremely nervous and shaky nod and slowly opened her mouth so that the goblin could administer the truth potion. As the three drops hit her tongue, she could feel her body relax as the tension bled out of her. If it wasn't for Tonks supporting her, she was sure she would have crashed to the stone floor.

"Name?"

Serina actually struggled to answer this. Her two names were fighting for dominance in her mind and it came out that way as well. "Harina Poblatter." It seemed like an expected answer though, because the goblin just nodded. She was also faintly sure that she could hear Tonks snickering behind her.

"Current name?"

"Serina Black."

"Former name?"

"Harry James Potter."

"Birthday?"

"I-I don't know."

"That's good enough for me." Saying this, the goblin pulled a small vial from his pocket and uncorked it before letting a drop of it fall on Serina's tongue. "Next is the general will. You'll be happy to know that it doesn't specify Harry James Potter as the recipient."

"What?! What do you mean, I should be happy? That means I lose my family's vault, doesn't it?" Serina exploded, near hysterical.

"No! No, no!" The goblin placated. "Calm yourself! If they left everything to Harry James Potter then you would not be eligible for the will, do you understand? Let me read the will out for you?"

"We, James and Lily Potter, leave everything of ours to the child that came into our home and hearts on the night of July 31, 1980."

The goblin gave them a feral grin. "The vault is yours, Serina Black. They planned ahead for your circumstances. Very cunning of them."

Serina couldn't even reply, the shock and awe freezing her in place with wide eyes.

"Sign here please and then we can conclude our business." He unfurled several rolls of parchment and laid them out on the table next to the contract quill. "The first one here is a confirmation of identity. Being blood glamoured, you don't exist. Signing your name here will bring you to life, so to speak."

First Name: Serina Middle Name: Amaryllis Last Name: Black

"Amaryllis?" Tonks asked.

"A flower. For my mum. It's not Lily, but it holds the same meaning to me."

"Next. The transfer contract. Nothing will change other than you being the owner. Business will go on as it always has."

With a nod, Serina skimmed over the contract and signed her new official name everywhere she was directed to. For everybody claiming that the goblins were so crafty and underhanded, she was surprised with how upfront and simplistic the contract was. Exactly as the goblin said, it literally just put the Potter vault under her control.

"And that concludes our business, Ms. Black. Good day." The goblin rolled up the documents and let the room.

"Well. What next?" Serina asked with an ear-to-ear grin.

A quick trip to Serina's reaquired vault and then they were out of Gringotts and on their way to Olivanders.

"So why are we going to Ollivander's? I already have a wand, and it still works just fine for me."

"Wizards and witches can be identified just by their wand. We're not going to get you a new wand, we're just going to get yours a makeover," Tonks explained as they pushed open the door to the musty wand shop and stepped inside.

Ollivander looked up from the counter where he was doing maintenance on a stack of dusty looking wands. "Another wand replacement, Nymphadora? It's only been weeks since your last one. I'm afraid I don't approve of how you treat my creations."

Tonks at least had the good sense to look ashamed. "Not quite. We need a wand reskinned. You see, it's a pretty well-known wand and-"

"And Mr. Potter wishes to disappear. Yes, very well. Give me the wand and fifteen minutes and you won't even recognize it."

With wide eyes, Tonks withdrew the wand of Harry Potter from her sleeve and placed it on the counter in front of the wandmaker. Ignoring the muttering of 'what a shame to do away with such a magnificent wand' Tonks took Serina by the shoulder and dragged her out of the store.

"I don't know how he always knows who everybody is but don't worry. He won't tell anybody." She turned to Serina and shot a chill-inducing smile at her. "Now the best part. Shopping."

"Oh, sweet Merlin."

/

Shopping was nowhere near as bad as Serina though it would be. In fact, loathe as she was to admit it, she had a great time with Tonks. She must have tried on half the store and left with half of the things she tried on. She got mostly casual clothes, being sweatpants and sweatshirts, jeans, t-shirts, a couple pair of trainers, and some heavier clothes for winter.

After a couple hours in the clothing shop, they made their way back to Ollivanders and seven galleons later they had a wandbox which Serina insisted they wait to open until they got home. With their business in the alley done, Tonks took Serina by the arm and with a snap they were standing on the front step of 12 Grimmauld Place. Before Tonks could steady herself from the sudden transportation, Serina was already bolting to the kitchen with the intent of examining her reskinned wand.

When Tonks caught up it was to see a teen girl with a look of absolute confusion on her face and a note in her hand. The older cousin made her way behind Serina and read the note over her shoulder.

I can give you a sword, but I cannot swing it for you.

"I don't understand..." Serina muttered. Regardless, she picked up her 'new' wand an examined it. It truly was a work of beauty with a swirling vine pattern covering the entire length of it, and small blossoms set into it. She rolled it in her hands, marveling at just how different it was from her admittedly plain old wand.

With a start, Tonks noticed something. "Hold on, there's another wand in there."

Before Tonks could warn her away to check for curses or anything of the sort, Serina snatched the wand out of the box. There was no explosion of sparks or blanket of warmth like with her holly and phoenix wand, but rather it felt cold. Cold yet comforting that is, and it was a strange feeling.

Serina was startled from her observations of the strange, knobby new wand by a quiet tink. Looking for the source, she found a ring that must have been hooped around the wand and picked it up. The ring, like the wand, had a somewhat cold aura to it and was plain in design. It was a plain silver ring with an onyx black stone set on it. The stone was unremarkable as well, minus the symbol on it; a triangle with a circle etched into the middle of it, with a single line going vertically through it.


	4. A New World

**So better late than never, right? My old laptop actually melted so I couldn't do any work on my stories. But I got a new one a few days ago and decided that I needed to get something up, at the very least. So here we are, the crossover has officially started. It's a short chapter, but it's a start. Also, you may notice that the name Amaryllis is being used instead of her first name. Just pretend like you didn't notice.**

 **I plan on this being a multi-crossover, where our MC will visit several different fandoms. Something to note; she will not always see things through to the end, so some worlds might only be a chapter long, and others might be several chapters long. If you have a fandom you'd like our heroine to visit, let me know and I'll see if I can fit it in.**

* * *

As the gate closed behind her, she couldn't help but marvel at how smooth the process went. Rather than the crushing and claustrophobic sensation or jerkiness of a portkey, it was as simple as stepping through. No companion feelings, no motion sickness, just a step through.

She didn't turn to sneak a last look at the world behind her before she closed the gate; her story was finished there and she felt a shiver of anticipation as she looked forward to everything that was to come.

Wherever she came it out, it was dark. She was standing in the middle of a dirt road surrounded by thick trees on either side. She thought she heard movement in them, but as soon as she stopped to really listen, all had gone quiet. It wasn't just the sound that she thought she heard in the trees that had stopped, it was all sound of life as if somebody had hit the mute button on nature.

Unnerved, Amaryllis drew her wand and readied herself for trouble; her senses were screaming trouble, and they'd never led her astray before. It only took moment before she was proven correct again and she heard a rhythmic thumping quickly moving down the road towards her.

She didn't have to wait long until a black rider on an equally black horse bore down on her. It reigned in its beast and came to a stop mere feet from her. She could sense the malice rolling off it in waves, but resisted releasing the spell on her lips until she understood more of the situation. Just as she was about to ask the rider's business, it spoke in a voice that screamed evil.

"Where is Baggins?"

"I don't know a Baggins, creature. Off with you, or I'll send you on your way!" She replied, with maybe just a touch of false bravado. Sure, she had fought Voldemort on several occasions, but this was an unknown entity that she was unsure of what its capabilities were.

The black rider clearly took offense to her words, for as soon as it registered that she had threatened it, it made to draw its sword. Amaryllis, with her battle-honed reflexes, did not give it the chance. With a silent expelliarmus, the razor sharp blade was sent flying from its hand and a silent stunner followed it up. To the Potter's surprise, however, nothing happened and upon realizing this she apparated a couple of dozen feet farther down the road to give herself some space.

With a piercing shriek, the rider stirred its horse in a charge, intent on riding her down and crushing her under the massive warhorse's bulk. Deciding to step things up since her stunner was ineffective, Amaryllis leveled her wand on the rider and cast a confringo. A thick baby blue beam rocketed out of her wand and caught the creature center mass, lifting it off of its horse and throwing it into the trees some distance away. Recognizing that its master had been defeated, the horse turned and fled riderless.

Being cautious, Amaryllis cast a homemnum revelio to ensure that there weren't more of those creatures nearby. The only thing that showed up were four signs of life a short distance away, in the forest.

She disillusioned herself before creeping in their direction. Children. There were four children huddled under a log, clearly hiding from the black rider. Stepping back to where she would be out of their sight, she removed her disillusionment charm from herself before moving back into the children's view in as non-threatening a manner as possible so as not to spook them.

"Come on children; you shouldn't be out here. There's evil out, tonight." She said, holding out a hand to them.

"Children?! Well, hold on now, miss. We ain't no children, except Pip there but he'll be growed up in a few years!" Exclaimed a heavier blonde indignantly.

"Sam! There's no time! I don't know who she is, but she's right. We have to get to Bree now!"

The one she now knew as Sam opened his mouth, surely to argue against having the company of a stranger until a piercing screech echoed through the darkness surrounding them. The "not children" looked to her, faces paling, and nodded.

"Do not sacrifice speed in favor of being quiet. I can defend you all well enough if they catch up, but you must least us. I don't know where you're going. Understood?"

There was no vocal response, but she could see them steeling their nerves before they came to a silent agreement with each other and they bolted in sync. They scrambled the short distance to the road and then proceeded to move as fast as their hairy little feet could move them. A thick fog was rolling in as they ran and Amaryllis shivered with the chill of it, and then again when she heard another of those creatures screaming down the road behind her, followed by the steady thud of hoofbeats.

She looked over her shoulder and even as dark as the sudden night was, the moonlight was just bright enough to see a shadow approaching through the vaporous blanket, only a dozen meters away. Without stopping she pointed her wand behind her and unleashed a volley of blasting curses at the ground in front of the shadow, hoping to take its horse from under it. It sounded like she may have succeeded, but she wasn't about to stop to find out.

They continued to run for what felt like hours, with all of them stumbling here and there on the rough roads; between the stones that littered it and the deep ruts carved by wagon wheels, Amaryllis found herself surprised that nobody had broken an ankle yet. Every now and then a rider would nearly catch up to them, but while the riders themselves seemed to have some limited resistance to her magic, their mounts did not and were easily dealt with.

Finally, when they were all on their last legs, they came up to a river and a ferry left unattended on it. With no energy left to run any further, they stumbled their way onto it and pushed off from the bank. After the terror that was their escape, the gentle rocking of the ferry and the sound of the water flowing was welcome.

"Are you a wizard, then? Like Gandalf?"

The question startled her out of the trance she had fallen into. How to answer him fairly without giving too much away? Though she didn't really have to lie either if there were wizards in this world. Four sets of eyes were fixed on her now, one in suspicion and the other three with plain curiosity.

"Not quite," she gave them all a wry smile. "I'm a witch. But I suppose I could be a wizard if you'd prefer? Just by the looks of this place, I'd assume that the people here wouldn't much take a woman seriously..."

"Could be a wizard? What's that supposed to mean?" The one name Sam asked with narrowed eyes.

Amaryllis let her hand dangle over the edge of the small ferry, more of a raft really, and played with the water. "As you see me now is who I really am, but I can be anybody if I really want to, or I can look like them anyway. Would you like to see?"

It was easy to see that they didn't really believe her, but they nodded regardless. So focusing, she became Sam. Her transformation was met with exclamations of shock and surprise and she quickly turned back into her true form.

"See? I can be anybody, though I don't like to be. It's uncomfortable to be somebody you're not." They just nodded, eyes wide in wonder.

She found herself continuously surprised by these four. First on how well they handled the escape from the riders and how hard they pushed themselves, and now; she expected them to react with fear of her powers and abilities, but they just accepted it. A long shot from the suspicion the one named Sam treated her with.

They continued with light conversation as they traveled with Amaryllis learning their named and that they were called hobbits, and that they were on their way to a town called Bree to meet somebody. She answered some questions about herself as well, though when asked where she was from, she merely answered that she came from a long ways away. Eventually, the ferry reached the end of its line. As they crossed onto the ferry's dock, they could see the walls of a small town taking form through the fog. They had made it to Bree.


End file.
